Republicans call on Biden to resign after president announces he won't run again

Republican lawmakers are calling on President Joe Biden to resign after he announced he would not seek re-election.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a message on X. “He must resign from office immediately.”
White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in February that the president “is a healthy, active and robust 81-year-old man who remains fit to successfully perform his presidential duties.”

Republican lawmakers call on president Joe Biden to resign after announcing Sunday that he would not seek re-election.

“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a message posted on X after Biden’s decision was announced. “He must resign from office immediately.”

Other Republican members of Congress, including House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have echoed Johnson’s message. Some have even raised the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment.

“Biden is a national security threat in severe cognitive decline and a clear and present danger to every man, woman and child in our country,” the former president said. Donald Trump the campaign said in a statement.

“The question for Kamala Harris then is simple: Given that Joe Biden has withdrawn from the campaign due to his rapidly deteriorating health, does Harris believe the American people are safe with Joe Biden in the White House for another six months?” Trump’s campaign said.

Biden, 81, has faced calls to drop out of the presidential race since his poor performance in the June debate, where his verbal stumbles and raspy voice raised concerns about his age.

But the president did not address those concerns or his age in his announcement, and he made clear that he would stay in office for the remaining six months of his term.

“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country that I step aside and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in the letter sent to X.

After Biden’s annual physical in February, White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said the president “is a healthy, active and robust 81-year-old man who remains fit to successfully discharge the duties of the presidency.”

Biden was also briefly seen by a doctor after the June 27 debate, he told Democratic governors the following week, and was told his health was good.

The president is currently in isolation in Delaware after testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. O’Connor said Sunday that Biden’s symptoms have “significantly improved.”

“The President continues to tolerate treatment without difficulty and will continue PAXLOVID treatment as planned,” O’Connor wrote in the latest update. “He continues to perform all of his presidential duties.”

Republican calls for Biden to resign began even before the president announced he would no longer seek re-election.

“If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining president?” Trump’s running mate Sen. J.D. Vance said Sunday morning on X. “Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along that Biden was not mentally fit to serve as commander in chief.”

But not all Republican members of Congress have called on Biden to resign. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise have both stopped short of saying in their statements that Biden should not serve out his term.